A circular metal antenna nicknamed 'the elephant cage' used to intercept radio signals during the Cold War-era will be torn down after 50 years of taking up space at Silver Strand Training Complex in Coronado, San Diego.

As part of a mission to get rid of items they no longer need, the Navy will dispose of the 1,300-foot-diameter contraptions known officially as the Wullenweber Antenna Array.

Wullenweber technology and the finer facts about its creation remain a bit of a mystery as do many details kept secret by the Cold War-era. The mysterious structures were peppered all over the world as a means of intercepting enemy radio signals from Eastern Europe all the way to the Middle East.

No more: Beachgoers will say goodbye this month to the 'elephant cage'--the mysterious metal structure that has graced the south end of the Silver Strand for 50 years

United Kingdom: The elephant cage at Chicksands was used in the late 80s to source electronic signal intelligence related to on-site nuclear weapons inspections

Japan: the view of an 'elephant cage' from the Misawa AB Ski Lodge/sledding hill

One of the few known facts about Wullenweber contraptions is that they were developed in Germany during World War II.

'It’s possible that the Silver Strand antenna is the last of its kind still standing', said Alex Bethke, a Navy historian assigned to the project. It’s been obsolete since the 1970s, reported UT San Diego.

A circular antenna was originally used to intercept and detect the location of various radio signals.

The reason the atenna is so big is so that it can have antennae listening in all directions.